Methods and apparatus for protection of multi-user (MU) transmissions

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for protection of multi-user (MU) transmission are described herein. An apparatus includes a receiver, a transmitter and a processor. The receiver and the processor detect a trigger frame for an uplink (UL) multi-user (MU) transmission. The processor and the transmitter generate and send a frame in response to the trigger frame and transmit channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame. The receiver and the processor detect data in a resource unit (RU) of a downlink (DL) MU physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) on one of the plurality of channels. The one of the plurality of channels is based on the transmitted channel availability information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/064,281, filed Jun. 20, 2018, which issued on Apr. 6, 2021, which isthe U.S. National Stage, under 35 U.S.C. § 371, of InternationalApplication No. PCT/US2017/012453 filed Jan. 6, 2017, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/276,090, which wasfiled on Jan. 7, 2016, the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein.

SUMMARY

Methods and apparatus for protection of multi-user (MU) transmission aredescribed herein. An apparatus includes a receiver, a transmitter and aprocessor. The receiver and the processor detect a trigger frame for anuplink (UL) multi-user (MU) transmission. The processor and thetransmitter generate and send a frame in response to the trigger frameand transmit channel availability information for a plurality ofchannels in response to the trigger frame. The receiver and theprocessor detect data in a resource unit (RU) of a downlink (DL) MUphysical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) on one of the pluralityof channels. The one of the plurality of channels is based on thetransmitted channel availability information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description,given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1A is a system diagram of an example communications system in whichone or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 1B is a system diagram of an example wireless transmit/receive unit(WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated inFIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a system diagram of an example radio access network and anexample core network that may be used within the communications systemillustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of multi-user (MU) request to send(RTS) WITH simultaneous clear to send (CTS);

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example trigger frame format for MUtransmissions;

FIG. 4 is a diagram providing other examples of trigger frame formats;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of access point (AP) scheduling withoverlapping basic service set (OBSS) interference avoidance;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of another example of AP scheduling with OBSSinterference avoidance;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams of an example method of using a triggerframe to trigger a relayed re-transmission of a frame in a downlink (DL)MU transmission;

FIG. 8 is a signal diagram of an example multi-user request tosend/clear to send (MU-RTS/CTS) where both high throughput (HT) andnon-HT CTS frames are supported for backward compatibility;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example of protecting an MU transmissionopportunity (TXOP) with an MU-RTS and a split CTS;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an example method of split CTS;

FIG. 11 is a diagram of another example of split CTS where the AP pollsthe user specific sequence (USS) with a trigger frame;

FIG. 12 is a diagram of an example of code division multiple access(CDMA) for USS frames;

FIG. 13 is a diagram of an example Common Information field of a triggerframe;

FIG. 14 is a diagram of an example User Information field of a triggerframe;

FIG. 15 is a diagram of an example User Specific Sequence (USS) frame;

FIG. 16 is a diagram of an example of MU-RTS and simultaneous CTSoperation with energy measurement;

FIG. 17 is a diagram of another example of MU-RTS and simultaneous CTSoperation with energy measurement;

FIG. 18 is a diagram of an example of MU-RTS with simultaneous CTS withCTS trigger;

FIG. 19 is a diagram of an example of half protection for DL MUtransmission;

FIG. 20 is a diagram of another example of half protection for DL MUtransmission;

FIG. 21 is a diagram of an example of half protection for uplink (UL) MUtransmission;

FIG. 22 is a diagram of an example of half protection for cascading MUtransmission;

FIG. 23 is a diagram of an example of dual protection for a DL MUtransmission;

FIG. 24 is a diagram of another example of dual protection for a DL MUtransmission;

FIG. 25 is a diagram of an example of dual protection for a UL MUtransmission;

FIG. 26 is a diagram of another example of dual protection for a UL MUtransmission;

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a situation where an OBSS networkallocation vector (NAV) unnecessarily prohibits a directionaltransmission;

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a situation where an OBSS does not seea directional transmission from a neighboring BSS;

FIGS. 29A and 29B are diagrams of an example of using OBSS facilitateinformation (OFI) to indicate to as station (STA) whether directionaltransmissions may be sent while an OBSS NAV is set; and

FIG. 30 is a diagram of three pre-high-efficiency-short-training-field(pre-HE-STF) preamble formats.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A is a diagram of an example communications system 100 in whichone or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communicationssystem 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, suchas voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wirelessusers. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless usersto access such content through the sharing of system resources,including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrierFDMA (SC-FDMA), and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wirelesstransmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d, a radioaccess network (RAN) 104, a core network 106, a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112,though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplateany number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements.Each of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d may be any type of deviceconfigured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. Byway of example, the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d may be configuredto transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include userequipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, apager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), asmartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor,consumer electronics, and the like.

The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114 a anda base station 114 b. Each of the base stations 114 a, 114 b may be anytype of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one ofthe WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d to facilitate access to one or morecommunication networks, such as the core network 106, the Internet 110,and/or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114 b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B,a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a site controller, an access point (AP),a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114 a, 114 bare each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that thebase stations 114 a, 114 b may include any number of interconnected basestations and/or network elements.

The base station 114 a may be part of the RAN 104, which may alsoinclude other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such asa base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relaynodes, etc. The base station 114 a and/or the base station 114 b may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals within aparticular geographic region, which may be referred to as a cell (notshown). The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example,the cell associated with the base station 114 a may be divided intothree sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114 a mayinclude three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. Inanother embodiment, the base station 114 a may employ multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) technology and, therefore, may utilize multipletransceivers for each sector of the cell.

The base stations 114 a, 114 b may communicate with one or more of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d over an air interface 116, which may beany suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF),microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). Theair interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio accesstechnology (RAT).

More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may bea multiple access system and may employ one or more channel accessschemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. Forexample, the base station 114 a in the RAN 104 and the WTRUs 102 a, 102b, 102 c may implement a radio technology such as Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), whichmay establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMAmay include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access(HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed DownlinkPacket Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

In another embodiment, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102b, 102 c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTSTerrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A).

In other embodiments, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.16 (i.e.,Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000,CDMA2000 1×, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), InterimStandard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System forMobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution(EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

The base station 114 b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B,Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitableRAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such asa place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, and the like. In oneembodiment, the base station 114 b and the WTRUs 102 c, 102 d mayimplement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN). In another embodiment, the base station 114 band the WTRUs 102 c, 102 d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yetanother embodiment, the base station 114 b and the WTRUs 102 c, 102 dmay utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE,LTE-A, etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A,the base station 114 b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110.Thus, the base station 114 b may not be required to access the Internet110 via the core network 106.

The RAN 104 may be in communication with the core network 106, which maybe any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications,and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more ofthe WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d. For example, the core network 106may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-basedservices, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution,etc., and/or perform high-level security functions, such as userauthentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciatedthat the RAN 104 and/or the core network 106 may be in direct orindirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as theRAN 104 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connectedto the RAN 104, which may be utilizing an E-UTRA radio technology, thecore network 106 may also be in communication with another RAN (notshown) employing a GSM radio technology.

The core network 106 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c, 102 d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and/orother networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephonenetworks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks anddevices that use common communication protocols, such as thetransmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) andthe internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. Thenetworks 112 may include wired or wireless communications networks ownedand/or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks112 may include another core network connected to one or more RANs,which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT.

Some or all of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d in thecommunications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities, i.e., theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d may include multiple transceivers forcommunicating with different wireless networks over different wirelesslinks. For example, the WTRU 102 c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured tocommunicate with the base station 114 a, which may employ acellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114 b, whichmay employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

FIG. 1B is a system diagram of an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1B,the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, atransmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, adisplay/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, apower source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, andother peripherals 138. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 mayinclude any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remainingconsistent with an embodiment.

The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purposeprocessor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in associationwith a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs)circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine,and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, dataprocessing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any otherfunctionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wirelessenvironment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120,which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element 122. While FIG. 1Bdepicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separatecomponents, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and thetransceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package orchip.

The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signalsto, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, thetransmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmitand/or receive RF signals. In another embodiment, the transmit/receiveelement 122 may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/orreceive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet anotherembodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured totransmit and receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciatedthat the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmitand/or receive any combination of wireless signals.

In addition, although the transmit/receive element 122 is depicted inFIG. 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number oftransmit/receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 mayemploy MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 mayinclude two or more transmit/receive elements 122 (e.g., multipleantennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the airinterface 116.

The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that areto be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and to demodulatethe signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 122. Asnoted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, thetransceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as UTRA and IEEE 802.11, forexample.

The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receiveuser input data from, the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/orthe display/touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) displayunit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad126, and/or the display/touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 mayaccess information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory,such as the non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132.The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storagedevice. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identitymodule (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card,and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may accessinformation from, and store data in, memory that is not physicallylocated on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (notshown).

The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and maybe configured to distribute and/or control the power to the othercomponents in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitabledevice for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 mayinclude one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd),nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion),etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which maybe configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude andlatitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In additionto, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from abase station (e.g., base stations 114 a, 114 b) and/or determine itslocation based on the timing of the signals being received from two ormore nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 mayacquire location information by way of any suitablelocation-determination method while remaining consistent with anembodiment.

The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, whichmay include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provideadditional features, functionality and/or wired or wirelessconnectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include anaccelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera(for photographs or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, avibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, aBluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digitalmusic player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internetbrowser, and the like.

FIG. 1C is a system diagram of the RAN 104 and the core network 106according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ anE-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communicationwith the core network 106.

The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 140 a, 140 b, 140 c, though it will beappreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs whileremaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 140 a, 140 b, 140c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment,the eNode-Bs 140 a, 140 b, 140 c may implement MIMO technology. Thus,the eNode-B 140 a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmitwireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102 a.

Each of the eNode-Bs 140 a, 140 b, 140 c may be associated with aparticular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radioresource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of usersin the uplink and/or downlink, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1C, theeNode-Bs 140 a, 140 b, 140 c may communicate with one another over an X2interface.

The core network 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility managemententity gateway (MME) 142, a serving gateway 144, and a packet datanetwork (PDN) gateway 146. While each of the foregoing elements aredepicted as part of the core network 106, it will be appreciated thatany one of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entityother than the core network operator.

The MME 142 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 140 a, 140 b, 140 cin the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. Forexample, the MME 142 may be responsible for authenticating users of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting aparticular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c, and the like. The MME 142 may also provide a control planefunction for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown)that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.

The serving gateway 144 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 140 a,140 b, 140 c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The serving gateway144 may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs102 a, 102 b, 102 c. The serving gateway 144 may also perform otherfunctions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers,triggering paging when downlink data is available for the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c, and the like.

The serving gateway 144 may also be connected to the PDN gateway 146,which may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access topacket-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitatecommunications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and IP-enableddevices.

The core network 106 may facilitate communications with other networks.For example, the core network 106 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, tofacilitate communications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c andtraditional land-line communications devices. For example, the corenetwork 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g.,an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interfacebetween the core network 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the corenetwork 106 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access to thenetworks 112, which may include other wired or wireless networks thatare owned and/or operated by other service providers.

Other network 112 may further be connected to an IEEE 802.11 basedwireless local area network (WLAN) 160. The WLAN 160 may include anaccess router 165. The access router may contain gateway functionality.The access router 165 may be in communication with a plurality of accesspoints (APs) 170 a, 170 b. The communication between access router 165and APs 170 a, 170 b may be via wired Ethernet (IEEE 802.3 standards),or any type of wireless communication protocol. AP 170 a is in wirelesscommunication over an air interface with WTRU 102 d.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 highefficiency (HE) wireless local area network (WLAN) (HEW) is directedtoward enhancing the quality of service users experience, for example,in high density scenarios in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Potentialapplications for HEW may include, for example, data delivery for stadiumevents, high density scenarios such as train stations orenterprise/retail environments, video delivery and wireless services formedical applications. To enhance quality of service in theseenvironments, HEW may take advantage of multi-user (MU) communications,including uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) OFDMA and UL and DL MU-multipleinput/multiple output (MIMO)).

IEEE 802.11 uses carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance(CSMA/CA) for channel access. CSMA/CA uses a network allocation vector(NAV) setting to maintain a prediction of future traffic on the mediumbased on duration information announced in request to send (RTS)/clearto send (CTS) frames prior to the actual exchange of data.

DL MU transmissions may present a hidden node problem as a result of theAP not hearing transmissions from nodes in neighboring or overlappingbasic service sets (OBSSs) that may cause interference with nodes in theAP's BSS, especially for nodes at or near the edge of the AP's coverage.The RTS/CTS concept of CSMA/CA may be extended to MU DL transmissions toaddress the hidden node problem using MU-RTS with simultaneous CTS.

FIG. 2 is a diagram 200 of an example of MU-RTS with simultaneous CTS(also referred to herein as MU RTS/CTS). In the example illustrated inFIG. 2 , an access point (AP) transmits an MU-RTS 202, which may bereceived by a number of IEEE 802 stations (STAs) (STAs 1, 2, 3 and 4 inthe illustrated example). In response to the MU-RTS 202, STAs 1, 2, 3and 4 may simultaneously transmit CTSs 204. Based on CTSs received fromthe STAs, the AP may transmit DL MU data 206. Although not illustratedin FIG. 2 , a NAV may be set based on duration information included inthe MU RTS 202, such as an indication of the duration of the TXOPinitiated by the MU RTS 202.

HEW may use a similar concept to MU-RTS/CTS for UL MU transmissions byusing a trigger frame to synchronize and schedule upcoming concurrent ULMU transmissions. The MU-RTS frame and the trigger frame may bevariations of each other. A UL MU physical layer convergence procedure(PLOP) protocol data unit (PPDU) (MU-MIMO or OFDMA) may be sent as animmediate response to a trigger frame sent by the AP, and a NAV may beset based on duration information included in the trigger frame, such asan indication of the duration of the TXOP initiated by the triggerframe. The trigger frame may have a control frame format that carriessufficient information to identify the STAs transmitting the UL MU PPDUsand allocate resources for the UL MU PPDUs.

FIG. 3 is a diagram 300 of an example trigger frame format for MUtransmissions. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3 , the trigger frame300 includes a frame control (FC) field 302, a duration field 304,address fields 306, 308, a common information field 310, a number of peruser information fields 312 corresponding to the number of STAs expectedto transmit in the upcoming UL MU transmission, and a frame checksequence (FCS) 314. The common information included in the commoninformation field 310 may include, for example, the format of theinformation, a duration and an indication of the purpose of the trigger.Per user information included in the per user information fields 312 mayinclude, for example, an association ID (AID), a resource unit (RU)allocation description, and power control information. FIG. 4 is adiagram 400 providing other examples of trigger frame formats 402, 404and 406, which may include optional additional or alternativeinformation, such as type-specific common information and type-specificper user information in different locations in the frame.

While use of MU RTS/CTS and trigger frames may help with the hidden nodeproblem for DL and UL MU transmissions, as described above, the NAV setbased on the duration information included in the MU RTS/trigger framemay introduce new issues. Such issues (and others) may be addressedherein.

One new issue may concern interference from pre-existing OBSSs. Forexample, in a target wake time (TWT), an AP may use trigger frames toschedule transmissions of power save polls (PS-POLLs) from STAs and maythen send DL frames accordingly. However, if a STA's clear channelassessment (CCA) status indicates OBSS NAV busy, the STA may not send aPS-POLL in response to a trigger frame. Further, the AP may not have anyway of knowing whether the unresponsive STA has left the BSS or when itcan trigger the PS-POLL again. Use of a common CTS before the triggerframe may not be effective to address this because the interference mayhave started before the CTS could be sent. However, if an AP knows aboutinterference that STAs may be experiencing after the PS-POLL is sent, itmay smartly schedule DL transmissions within the TWT on differenttime/frequency resources to avoid interference.

FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 of an example of AP scheduling with OBSSinterference avoidance. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5 , a BSSincludes an AP 508 and serving STAs 510, 512 and 514, and an OBSSincludes an AP 502 and a STA 504. The STA 504 transmits an OBSS UL frame506 on a channel A (e.g., a 20 MHz channel), which may interfere withtransmissions to/from STA 510.

To avoid interference from the OBSS, in the example illustrated in FIG.5 , the AP 508 sends a trigger frame 522A to STAs 510, 512 and 514 andduplicates the trigger frame 522B in each 20 MHz channel (channel B inthe illustrated example). In response to the trigger frame 522A, 522B,the STAs 510, 512 and 514 each select one of the 20 MHZ channels onwhich the trigger frame/duplicated trigger frame could be decoded andtransmit a PS-POLL frame 524, 526, 528 on the selected channel. For STA510, in the illustrated example, the trigger frame could not be decodedon channel A due to interference caused by the UL frame sent by OBSS STA504. Accordingly, in the illustrated example, STA 510 sends the PS-POLL524 on channel B while STAs 512 and 514 send PS-POLLs 526 and 528 onchannel A.

On a condition that the trigger frame 522A, 522B assigns resources forthe PS-Poll transmission corresponding to a channel on which a STAcannot decode the trigger frame, the STA may use random access (RA)resource units (RUs) in the selected 20 MHz channel to send the PS-POLLif random access on the selected 20 MHz channel is allowed. Otherwise,the STA may fail to reply to the trigger frame. In response to receivingthe PS-POLLs 524, 526, 528 from the STAs 510, 512, 514, the AP may sendDL data frames 516, 518, and 520 to the respective STAs 510, 512 and 514using RUs in the channel in which the PS-POLL was received from therespective STA.

In embodiments, the STAs, such as STAs 510, 512, 514, may additionallyor alternatively send interference information to an AP, such as the AP508, using the PS-POLL frame, which may carry the interferenceinformation. For example, the PS-POLL frame may include free channeland/or busy channel indices. Free channel indices may be used toindicate the 20 MHz channels that are free, and busy channel indices maybe used to indicate the 20 MHz channels that are occupied by IEEE 802.11or other signals. For another example, the PS-POLL frame may include, inaddition to, or instead of, the free and/or busy channel indices,information regarding interference level and/or interference duration.Interference level information may, for example, indicate a strength ofthe interference obtained, for example, as the result of a measurement,such a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or a received signal strengthindicator (RSSI).

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram 600 of another example of AP scheduling withOBSS interference avoidance. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6 , aSTA detects a trigger frame for a UL MU transmission (602). In responseto the trigger frame, the STA may generate a frame and send it (604). Inembodiments, the frame may be sent in an uplink (UL) MU PPDU or may besent using simultaneous CTS in any other format. The STA may alsotransmit channel availability information for multiple channels inresponse to the trigger frame (604). In embodiments, the channelavailability information may be included in the generated frame. Infurther embodiments, the trigger frame may be a request to send (RTS)frame, and the generated frame may be a split clear to send (CTS) frame.As described in more detail below, the split CTS frame may include a CTSframe followed by the channel availability information (e.g., thechannel availability information may be sent an interframe space afterthe CTS frame or the channel availability information may appended atthe end of the CTS frame). As further described below, the split CTSframe may include identifying information for the STA, such as a userspecific sequence (USS), which may be transmitted with the channelavailability information. Split CTS is described in detail below, andthe split CTS described in this paragraph may incorporate any or all ofthe features of split CTS described elsewhere herein.

The multiple channels may be a combination of 20 MHz channels in a wider(e.g., 40 MHz, 80 MHz or 160 MHz) channel supported by an AP serving theSTA. The STA may detect data in an RU of a DL MU PPDU on one of themultiple 20 MHz channels. The one of the multiple channels may be basedon the transmitted channel availability information (606).

In another embodiment, an AP may use the proximity of STAs to oneanother to re-transmit to a STA when the original transmission, such asa frame in a DL MU transmission that is destined to the STA, is notreceived, for example, due to OBSS interference. This embodiment maymake use of other STAs nearby a STA experiencing OBSS interference torelay the DL transmission where the nearby STAs are not experiencing thesame interference as the STA.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams 700A, 700B of an example method of using atrigger frame to trigger a relayed re-transmission of a frame in a DL MUtransmission. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7A, STA 706A isexperiencing OBSS interference when AP 702A sends a DL MU transmission710 (e.g. an aggregated MAC PPDU (AMPDU)) directed to STAs 704A and706A. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7A, STA 704A is notexperiencing the OBSS interference and is able to receive thetransmission 710. Accordingly, STA 704A responds to the trigger with aUL frame 712 while STA 706A does not respond to the trigger frame.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 7B, using the proximity of STAs 704Band 706B, the AP 702B may send a DL MU transmission to trigger an MUtransmission 716 that includes both a triggered UL transmission from STA708 and a DL retransmission from the STA 704B to the STA 706B of thetransmission 710. In an embodiment, the trigger frame may specify thescrambler initialization of the DL MU transmission 710 plus the STAID ofSTA 706B to identify the AMPDU to be re-transmitted. The MU transmission716 may include a packet extension (PE) 718 to allow the receiver tohave enough time to decode the packet before responding.

All UL MU-PPDUs may be padded to the same length. Accordingly, a STA mayuse the pre-forward error correction (FEC) padding in a UL-AMPDU tofeedback the overheard DL-AMPDUs preceding the UL transmission 712. ASTA may also feedback information indicating that STA 706B is nearbybased on previous knowledge of overhead UL transmissions. With thisinformation, the AP 702 may immediately schedule a trigger frame for DLretransmission following the UL transmission 712. Since the PPDUs have aPE, the PE or post-FEC padding may be used to feedback the overheadDL-AMPDUs preceding the UL transmission 712. Although the AP 702 may nothave time to decode the information carried in the PE or post-FECpadding, the AP 702 may use this information to schedule the DLretransmission in a later trigger frame. In embodiments, a PPDUfollowing the trigger frame may be entirely DL, such as where both theAP 702 and STA 704 retransmit a DL AMPDU in the same or different RU toincrease diversity.

Another new issue may concern backward compatibility. In particular, inorder to support backward compatibility, use of both high throughput(HT) and non-HT CTS frames may be supported. However, for MU RTS/CTS,use of both HT and non-HT CTS frames may result in wastage of resourceallocations. For example, multiple STAs may transmit non-HT CTS framesin the same time slot on a 20 MHz channel base, and the receiving AP maynot be able to distinguish the STAs that transmitted the CTS frames. Asa result, the AP may blindly transmit DL MU frames to STAs, which may beunable to receive them.

FIG. 8 is a signal diagram 800 of an example MU-RTS/CTS where both HTand non-HT CTS frames are supported for backward compatibility. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 8 , an AP 802 transmits an MU-RTS 812 toSTAs 804, 806, 808 and 810, but only STAs 804 and 810 are able toreceive it. Thus, STAs 804 and 810 simultaneously transmit CTS frames814, 816 to the AP 802. STAs 806 and 808 do not reply to the MU-RTS 812.The AP 802 may detect reception of the CTS 814, 816 but may not know theidentities of the STAs that the transmitted them. Accordingly, the AP802 may assign resources to all of the STAs 804, 806, 808, and 810 usinga DL MU PPDU 818 (as illustrated in FIG. 8 ) or a standalonetransmission (not shown). Since only STAs 804 and 810 can transmit datausing the assigned resources (820 and 826 in FIG. 8 ), the resourcesassigned to STAs 806 and 808 (822 and 824 in FIG. 8 ) are wasted. Inanother scenario not illustrated in FIG. 8 , the AP 802 may begin a DLMU transmission to STAs 804, 806, 808 and 810 directly after receptionof the CTSs, and the transmissions to STAs 806 and 808 would be wasted.

Another new issue may concern NAV extension for STAs that cannotunderstand HE frames. For example, where both HE and non-HE CTS issupported, MU-RTS/CTS exchanges may set NAV at the beginning of the MUTXOP. However, if the AP and/or STAs decide to extend NAV at some point,the legacy STAs may not be able to successfully update the NAV settingbecause they cannot understand the HE frame. Another new issue mayconcern the combined energy of the combined CTS potentially overwhelmingthe automatic gain control (AGC) of the AP's receiver.

Yet another new issue may concern protection for directionaltransmissions. For example, wireless networks, such as IEEE 802.11networks, may support directional transmission of both MU andsingle-user (SU) PPDUs, including usage of the legacy preamble part forthe SU PPDU. This may, however, introduce extra hidden nodes due to thedifferent coverage range for directional and omni-directionaltransmissions.

In embodiments, simultaneous non-HT CTS may be used, where an AP maypoll an integer number M STAs in an MU-RTS frame, and the AP may operateon a channel with an integer number N 20 MHz sub-channels. The AP mayrequest or suggest that the M STAs respond with non-HT CTS frames on oneor more of the 20 MHz subchannels using one of a number of differentmethods, such as described below. The various methods described hereinmay be implemented alone or in combination.

In one example method, an AP may request that all of the STAs thatsuccessfully receive the MU-RTS frame and are capable of respondingtransmit a non-HT CTS frame. The AP may indicate in the MU-RTS framethat a full response is requested. The AP may operate on a channelbandwidth wider than 20 MHz while the non-HT CTS frame may betransmitted over a 20 MHz channel. The AP may schedule the non-HT CTSframe transmission using one or more of symmetrical MU-RTS/CTS,asymmetrical MU-RTS/CTS and STA driven MU-RTS/CTS.

Using symmetrical MU-RTS/CTS, the AP may request the STAs to respondwith a CTS frame on a 20 MHz channel basis and to duplicate the frame inall of the 20 MHz sub-channels with or without phase rotation. The CTSprotection may, thus, be over the entire channel and may be symmetricalto the MU-RTS. Using this method, a STA addressed by the MU-RTS framemay transmit CTS frames after an inter-frame space (e.g., shortinter-frame space (SIFS) period) if the NAV at the STA receiving theMU-RTS frame indicates that the medium is idle in all of thesub-channels. The STA may need to perform primary channel CCA, secondarychannel CCA and/or CCA on all of the 20 MHz sub-channels.

Using asymmetrical MU-RTS/CTS, the AP may request the STAs to respondwith a CTS frame in one or more assigned 20 MHz sub-channels. The one ormore assigned sub-channels may or may not include the primary 20 MHzsub-channel. On a condition that more than one 20 MHz channel isassigned to one STA, the STA may duplicate the CTS frame on a 20 MHzchannel basis. Using this method, a STA addressed by the MU-RTS framemay transmit CTS frames after an inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS period)if the NAV at the STA receiving the MU-RTS frame indicates that themedium is idle in the assigned sub-channels. The STAs may need toperform primary channel CCA and/or secondary channel CCA. The AP mayinclude sub-channel scheduling information in the MU-RTS frame.

In one example method of asymmetrical MU-RTS/CTS, the AP may try toevenly distribute the users to sub-channels. For example, the AP mayoperate on N 20 MHz sub-channels, and the MU-RTS may be sent to M STAs.The AP may schedule round(M/N) users for the first N−1 20 MHzsub-channels, while the last 20 MHz sub-channel may be used forM−round(M/N)*(N−1) users. Other functions, such as ceiling, floor, ormod may also be used.

In another example method of asymmetrical MU-RTS/CTS, the AP may use thesame resource allocation for CTS scheduling and the data transmissionafter the MU-RTS/CTS exchange. In this example, a STA may need totransmit a CTS frame on one or more 20 MHz sub-channels.

Using STA driven MU-RTS/CTS, the AP may allow the STAs to choose one ormore sub-channels and reply with the CTS frame on the one or more chosensub-channels. Using this method, a STA addressed by the MU-RTS frame maytransmit CTS frames on one or more certain sub-channels after aninter-frame space (e.g., SIFS period) if the NAV at the STA receivingthe MU-RTS frame indicates that the medium is idle in the chosensub-channel or sub-channels. The STA may need to perform primary channelCCA, secondary channel CCA and/or CCA on all of the 20 MHz sub-channels.

In another example method, an AP may request that some of the intendedSTAs that successfully received the MU-RTS frame and are capable ofresponding transmit a non-HT CTS frame. The AP may indicate in theMU-RTS frame that a Partial Response is requested and may identify STAsthat are requested to respond with a non-HT CTS frame. The AP mayoperate on a channel bandwidth wider than 20 MHz, while the non-HT CTSframe may be transmitted over a 20 MHz channel. The AP may schedule thenon-HT CTS frame transmission using one or more of the CTS schedulingmethods described herein.

As described briefly above, the MU RTS frame may be a variation of atrigger frame, which may carry, for example, a number of fields, such asa Trigger Type field, a Type Specific Information field, and a Per UserType Specific Information field. The Trigger Type field may be used toindicate that the trigger frame is an MU-RTS frame. Non-AP STAs mayrespond to the trigger frame depending on their NAV settings and/or theTrigger Type of the trigger frame. A STA that is polled by a triggerframe with Trigger Type MU-RTS may not respond if the STA has a NAV setfrom one or more non-AP STAs in the same BSS in one or more sub-channelsor from one or more non-AP and/or AP STAs in OBSSs in one or moresub-channels.

On a condition that the STA has a NAV previously set by the AP thattransmitted the MU-RTS frame, the STA may ignore or update thepreviously set NAV and respond. This may occur, for example, where theAP's MAC address is set in the TA field and the STA's MAC address is setin the receiver address (RA) field of the MU-RTS/trigger frame or wherethe AP's MAC address is in the transmitter address (TA) field and theSTA ID is included in the Common Information and/or Per User Informationfield. This scenario may occur, for example, in a cascading MU TXOPwhere an AP may communicate with a set of STAs at one time slot. In thenext time slot, the AP may decide to communicate with another set ofSTAs and use an MU-RTS frame to poll the new set of STAs.

The Type Specific Information field and/or the Per User Type SpecificInformation field of the MU-RTS may carry the sub-channel assignment,resource allocation, or scheduling information. In embodiments, the 20MHz sub-channels acquired by an AP may be ordered by certain criteria.For example, the sub-channels may be ordered using the channel startingfrequency. Thus, when bitmap or sub-channel index methods are used, boththe AP and STAs may identify the sub-channel. In embodiments, for eachSTA, a sub-channel bitmap may be employed such that, for each STA, Nbits may be used to indicate N sub-channels. In such embodiments, if thekth bit is set, the STA may transmit a CTS frame on the kth 20 MHzsub-channel. In other embodiments, a user bitmap method may be employedsuch that, for each sub-channel, M bits may be used to indicate the Musers. In such embodiments, if the kth bit is set, for example, the STAk may transmit a CTS frame on the 20 MHz sub-channel (the STAs may beordered using predefined criteria). The STA ID, which may be included inthe Per User Information field, may not be included in the bitmap. Inyet other embodiments, a sub-channel index method may be employed where,for each STA, a set of 20 MHz sub-channels may be assigned. In suchembodiments, sub-channel indices, which may be ceil(log 2(N)) bits long,may be used to indicate the allocated sub-channels. In yet otherembodiments, a user index method may be employed where, for eachsub-channel, a set of STAs may be assigned. In such embodiments, STAindices, which may be ceil(log 2(M)) bits long, may be used to indicatethe allocated STAs (the STAs may be ordered using predefined criteria).The STA ID, which may be included in the Per User Information field, maynot be included in the user index.

Directional transmissions starting from the legacy part may be signaledin the MU-RTS trigger frame. For example, one or more bits in the CommonInformation and/or User Specific Information field may be used toindicate that the transmission following the MU-RTS/CTS frame exchangesmay be a directional transmission. In particular, the directionaltransmission may be performed over the entire PPDU including the Legacypreamble, HE preamble, and data part. The directional transmissionduration may be signaled in the MU-RTS trigger frame. The directionaltransmission duration may bi-directionally cover the time period usedfor directional transmission.

In embodiments, a directional single user transmission may also beprotected using MU-RTS/CTS exchanges. A directional single usertransmission may also be protected using other types of protectionmechanisms in which the directional transmission and the directionaltransmission duration fields may present.

In embodiments, a trigger frame with Trigger Frame type MU-RTS may betransmitted using an SU PPDU format either over the entire band or ineach 20 MHz channel (and repeated over the rest of the 20 MHz channels).A trigger frame with Trigger Type MU-RTS may also be transmitted usingan MU PPDU format using one or more RUs or using one or more RUs in each20 MHz channel (repeated with or without phase rotation in the rest ofthe 20 MHz channels). Such embodiments may be applied to other triggerframes with different trigger types.

To support backward compatibility to legacy STAs, CTS frames may betransmitted using a non-HT PPDU format. A non-HT PPDU contains a legacyshort training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), alegacy OFDM signal (L-SIG) field and data fields. A CTS frametransmitted using a non-HT PPDU may use the same modulation and codingscheme (MCS) and scrambling seeds, and, thus, the frame transmitted frommultiple STAs may be the same. However, an AP receiving the non-HT CTSframe may not know the identities of the STAs transmitting the non-HTCTS frames and, thus, may inefficiently send downlink transmissions toall STAs addressed in the MU RTS, regardless of whether the STA sent aCTS or not.

In embodiments, a CTS frame may be transmitted as a split CTS. A splitCTS frame may include a traditional CTS frame and a user specificsequence (USS). The traditional CTS frame may be carried using a non-HTPPDU and may be detectable by legacy STAs. The USS may be carried usingan HT or other PPDU and may be detected by HE or other STAs. The AP mayassign the USS using the MU-RTS frame, Beacon frame, Association frame,or Re-Association frame.

FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 of an example of protecting an MU TXOP with anMU-RTS and a split CTS. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9 , an AP 902transmits an MU-RTS frame 912, which may indicate that a split CTStransmission is expected. The duration field of the MU-RTS frame may beset to cover the entire TXOP. If the MU-RTS frame 912 is transmitted inthe middle of an MU-TXOP, the duration field may be used to redefine theMU TXOP duration.

STAs addressed by the MU-RTS frame 912 (STAs 904 and 906 in FIG. 9 ) maytransmit split CTS frames an inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS period) afterthe MU RTS frame if the NAV at the STAs receiving the MU-RTS frame 912indicates that the medium is idle. The STAs 904 and 906 may transmit aconventional CTS frame 914, 916 using a non-HT PPDU. The duration fieldmay be set using the duration set by the MU-RTS frame and may beadjusted by subtracting the inter-frame space (e.g. SIFS time) and thenumber of microseconds required to transmit the CTS frame at a data ratedetermined by the MU-RTS frame. The Length field indicated in the L-SIGof the CTS frame may indicate the length of the CTS frame (not includingthe USS). The STAs 904, 906 may continue transmitting a USS 918, 920 aninter-frame space (e.g., SIFS, reduced inter-frame space (RIFS) or xIFS)period after the end of the CTS frame. Alternatively, the STA may appendthe USS at the end of the CTS frame without the inter-frame space.

In embodiments, a USS may include an LTF sequence scrambled by a Pmatrix. For example, if the MU-RTS frame addresses eight or less users,the 8×8 P matrix may be used. In this example, the AP may assign eachSTA a user index in the range of [1,8]. The user index assignment may beindicated in the MU-RTS frame or other frames transmitted by the AP,such as the Beacon frame, Trigger frame, or Association frame. The STAwith user index k may use the kth row or column of the P matrix toscramble the LTF sequence. Other orthogonal matrices, such as FFTmatrices, may be used to generate the USS in the same way.

In embodiments, a USS frame may be used to carry the USS. The USS framemay be a specially designed PPDU, which may include the USS only in thefrequency domain or time domain. Alternatively, the USS frame may carryan STF and a USS. The STF may be used, for example, for AGC and/ortiming/frequency synchronization. The USS frame may be transmitted usingthe same sub-channels that were used for a previous CTS transmission, orthe USS frame may be allowed to be transmitted on sub-channels otherthan the ones used for the CTS transmission.

In the embodiments described above, the terminology non-HT CTS is usedto refer to a CTS frame transmitted using a non-HT PPDU. However,embodiments may not be so limited and may be applicable to any type ofCTS frame. Split CTS capability, which may be used to indicate that thedevice is able to perform split CTS transmission, may be sent in the MUcapability field, other capability field and/or information element thatmay be transmitted in a Beacon frame, Association or Re-associationRequest/Response frame, Prob Request/Response frame and/or other type offrame by the AP and STAs.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram 1000 of an example method of split CTS. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 10 , a WTRU may detect an MU RTS frame(1010) and, in response to the MU RTS frame, transmit a CTS frame usinga non-HT PPDU format (1020). In response to the MU RTS frame, the WTRUmay transmit additional control information after the CTS frame (1030).The WTRU may receive a DL transmission, in response to the CTS frame,based on the additional control information transmitted after the CTSframe (1040).

FIG. 11 is a diagram 1100 of another example of split CTS where the APpolls the USS with a trigger frame. In the example illustrated in FIG.11 , an AP 1122 transmits an MU-RTS frame 1128, which may indicate thata split CTS transmission is expected in response to the MU-RTS frame1128. The duration field of the MU-RTS frame 1128 may be set to coverthe entire TXOP. On a condition that an MU-RTS frame, such as MU-RTSframe 1128, is transmitted in the middle of a TXOP, the duration fieldmay be used to re-define the MU TXOP duration.

STAs addressed in the MU-RTS frame 1128, such as STAs 1124 and 1126 inFIG. 11 , may transmit split CTS frames an interframe space (e.g., SIFSduration) after the end of the MU-RTS frame 1128, for example, if theNAV at the STAs receiving the MU-RTS frame indicate that the medium isidle. As illustrated in FIG. 11 , for example, the STAs 1124 and 1126may transmit conventional CTS frames 1130, 1132 using a non-HT PPDU. Theduration of the conventional CTS frame may be set using the duration setby the MU-RTS frame adjusted by subtracting a SIFSTime and the number ofmicroseconds required to transmit the CTS frame at a data rate that maybe determined by the MU-RTS frame. The length sub-field indicated in theL-SIG field of the CTS frame 1130, 1132 may indicate the length of theCTS frame (e.g., the length of the conventional CTS frame 1130, 1132).In the example illustrated in FIG. 11 , the AP 1122 has enhancedcapability and transmits a new trigger frame 1134 (or a trigger variant)to solicit a USS from one or more enhanced non-AP STAs (STAs 1124 and1126 in FIG. 11 ).

An interframe space (e.g., xIFS duration) after receiving the triggerframe 1134, STAs that are capable of responding (STAs 1124 and 1126 inFIG. 11 ) may transmit a user specific packet or USS 1136, 1138. The USSor user specific packet may include a USS or one or more portions of theuser specific packet, such as the PLOP header, that is modulated by aspecific user sequence, such as a P-matrix sequence. The xIFS durationmay be a SIFS, RIFS, xIFS or other InterFrame Spacing period.

In embodiments, the AP may acquire a channel with wide bandwidth (whichmay be composed of multiple sub-channels). However, the non-AP STAs maybe able to transmit on a narrower channel or one or more sub-channelsbased on the STA's capability, carrier sensing and/or virtual carriersensing results. Information regarding the availability of the STA onone or more sub-channels may be exchanged using the second Trigger frameand the following USS frame. To achieve this, the AP may need todistinguish packets transmitted by each STA.

The availability of a STA on one or more sub-channels may be implicitlysignaled by transmitting an extended service seta user specific sequence(USS) frame on one or more sub-channels with a given sequence.Alternatively, the USS frame may be transmitted over one or more RUs onone or more sub-channels with a given sequence. For example, an AP mayintend to communicate with a STA on channel 2. The AP may allocate RU xon channel 2 to the STA. In order to allow more STAs to implicitlysignal the channel availability concurrently, the AP may also allocate asequence to the STA to transmit in RU x on channel 2. The STA maypuncture the sequence in the un-allocated RUs, for example, bytransmitting 0 instead of a modulated symbol based on the sequence. On acondition that the AP supports multi-stream transmitting/receiving, thesequence may be repeated and scrambled by the P matrix. The AP mayindicate the stream index by indicating which row or column of a Pmatrix is used to scramble the sequence.

FIG. 12 is a diagram 1200 of an example of code division multiple access(CDMA) for USS frames. In the example illustrated in FIG. 12 , an AP mayobserve that channels 3 and 5 are busy while channels 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and8 are available. The AP may also intend to communicate with two STAs,STAs 1 and 2. In the illustrated example, STA 1 is available on channels1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and STA 2 is available on channels 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and8.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 12 , the AP transmits a first triggerframe with variation MU-RTS to STAs 1 and 2 (1220). Channel 1 may be theprimary channel. In embodiments, the AP may use a legacy (e.g., non-HT)PPDU to carry the MU-RTS frame and may transmit it over channels 1 and2. In other embodiments, the MU-RTS frame may be carried by an enhanced(e.g., HT) PPDU, and, thus, it may be transmitted over all of theavailable channels (e.g., channels 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 12 ).

STAs 1 and 2 may reply to the MU-RTS 1220 with CTS frames (1222) using,for example, a legacy PPDU on channels 1 and 2 based on theiravailability. On a condition that STA 2 is not available on channel 2,it may transmit its CTS frame only on channel 1.

On reception of the simultaneous CTS (1222), the AP may not know thesub-channel availability of the STAs 1 and 2 and may, thus, transmit asecond trigger frame (1224) in, for example, an enhanced PPDU overchannels 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 for channel bandwidth information exchange.User specific sequences may be sent in the second trigger frame to theSTAs that are being triggered to reply with a USS frame (1226). Inembodiments, the second trigger frame may be used independently of thefirst trigger frame/CTS frame exchange (1220/1222).

In embodiments, the Common Information field of the trigger frame mayindicate the variant of the trigger and USS frame format expected inreply to the second trigger frame. The User Information field of thetrigger frame may indicate the sequence index/ID assigned to the STA. Ona condition that the AP is operating on multiple channels, the AP mayindicate the channel or channels it intends to check for STAavailability. Alternatively, the AP may not indicate any channels, andthe STAs may be prepared to transmit on all the available channels.

A set of sequences with a good correlation property or that areorthogonal may be explicitly defined in the system and known by theSTAs. The sequences in the set may be ordered by sequence index/ID,which may be specified and known by the STAs. For example, the goodcorrelation property may be a zero cross correlation property, and thesequences may be Golay sequences or Zadoff-Chu sequences. On a conditionthat multiple channel bandwidths are supported, a sequence set for thesmallest basic channel bandwidth may be specified and sequenceindices/IDs may be defined. For example, for IEEE 802.11ax, the smallestbasic channel bandwidth may be 20 MHz. To transmit on a wider bandwidth,the sequence may be repeated with or without phase rotation in the timeor frequency domain.

In other embodiments, one or more known sequences, such as a longtraining field (LTF), may be specified. It may be assumed that the AP isable to transmit/receive with up to N data streams and each frequencychannel may have M non-overlapping Resource Units (RUs). The AP mayassign the n^(th) stream and the m^(th) RU to a STA for RSStransmission. Thus, in the User Information field, the triplet <AID, RUindex/range, spatial stream index/range> may be used to assign the STAassociated with the AID to transmit on one or more RUs using certainspatial streams. In the Common Information field, the expected variantof the Trigger and USS frame format may be indicated. For example, theTrigger type may indicate that the expected response frame shouldcontain a preamble only and no MAC frame should be included (e.g., aNull Data Packet (NDP) type response). Alternatively, the informationmay also be indicated in the User Information field.

In one example, the expected USS frame may be a frame with a preambleonly with no MAC frame included. The sequence may be the enhanced LTFsequence where the un-allocated RUs may be punctured (e.g., 0 may betransmitted instead of a modulated symbol). In this example, the AP maywant to check the availability of STA1 and STA2 on channels 1, 2, 4, 6,7, and 8. In one example, the AP may want to distinguish them in thefrequency domain only, and it may assign RUs 1-4 on channel x to STA1and RUs 5-8 on channel x to STA2. Channel x may include channels 1, 2,4, 6, 7, and 8. The spatial index may be 1 or default for both STA1 andSTA2. Alternatively, the AP may want to distinguish them in the spatialdomain only, and it may assign all the RUs on channel x to STA1 withspatial index 1 and all the RUs on channel x to STA2 with spatial index2. Channel x may include channels 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8.

On a condition that the AP expects responses from a large set of STAs,the AP may distinguish them in both the frequency and spatial domains.If there are STAs that cannot be uniquely allocated using both frequencyand spatial resources, the AP may transmit more trigger frames after thetrigger/USS frame exchange (1224/1226). In this example, the CascadeIndication in the trigger frame may be set to indicate that more triggerframes are expected.

In still further embodiments, the sequences may be specified and knownby the STAs. Each STA may use its ID to scramble the sequence. The IDmay be assigned by the AP and/or signaled in the trigger frame. The IDmay be the AID, the AP's BSSID, another type of ID, or a combination ofmultiple IDs.

The non-AP STAs that are not addressed by the trigger frame may sensethe channels. If the channel is free, they may transmit USS frames basedon the available channels using the instruction in the second triggerframe.

In the embodiments described above where the Common Information field ofthe trigger frames indicates the variant of the trigger and USS formatsexpected and the User Information field of the trigger frame indicatesthe sequence index/ID assigned to the STA, the STA may transmit theassigned sequence on all of the available channels. On the conditionthat the AP indicates certain channels for the STA, the STA may transmitthe assigned sequence on all of the available channels that wereindicated by the AP. In the embodiments described above where one ormore known sequences are specified, the STA may transmit the assignedsequence on assigned RUs using the assigned spatial index if thecorresponding channel is free for this STA. In the embodiments where thesequences are specified and known by the STAs, the STA may use its ownID to scramble the sequence and may transmit it on all of the availablechannels. On the condition that the AP indicates certain channels forthe STA, the STA may transmit the scrambled sequence on all of theavailable channels that the AP indicated. On reception of the USS frame(1226), the AP may know the channel availability of the STA based on theAP having received a signal on that channel. In other words, the AP maycheck the reception of the USS frame on each channel. If the AP receivesvalid signals on assigned RU(s) and spatial stream(s), it may considerthe corresponding STA to be available for the channel.

In a more specific example, it may be assumed that the AP may transmiton two channels, channel 1 and channel 2. In this example, channel 1 isthe primary channel. The AP may check the availability of ten STAs, STAs1-10. The first trigger frame (e.g., MU-RTS) and simultaneous CTSexchange may or may not be performed. It may be assumed that eachchannel has nine RUs and the AP is able to transmit/receive at least twoMU-MIMO data streams.

The AP may transmit a trigger frame requesting a channel availabilityreport from the STAs 1-10. The AP may use different combinations toassign RUs and spatial streams to the STAs. For example, the AP mayassign: STA 1 to respond on RU1-2 on both channels 1 and 2 using spatialstream 1; STA2 to respond on RU1-2 on both channels 1 and 2 usingspatial stream 2; STA 3 to respond on RU3-4 on both channels 1 and 2using spatial stream 1; STA4 to respond on RU3-4 on both channels 1 and2 using spatial stream 2; STA5 to respond on RU5-6 on both channels 1and 2 using spatial stream 1; STA6 to respond on RU5-6 on both channels1 and 2 using spatial stream 2; STA7 to respond on RU7-8 on bothchannels 1 and 2 using spatial stream 1; STA8 to respond on RU7-8 onboth channels 1 and 2 using spatial stream 2; STA9 to respond on RU9 onboth channels 1 and 2 using spatial stream 1; and STA10 to respond onRU10 on both channels 1 and 2 using spatial stream 2.

FIG. 13 is a diagram 1300 of an example Common Information field of atrigger frame. The example Common Information field illustrated in FIG.3 includes a number of sub-fields, including a Trigger Type sub-field1302, a Length sub-field 1304, a Number of HE-LTF Symbols sub-field1306, an STBC sub-field 1310, an LDCP Extra Symbol sub-field 1312, aPacket Extension sub-field 1314, a Spatial Reuse sub-field 1308 and aDoppler sub-field 1316. In the Trigger Type sub-field 1302, one valuemay be used to indicate that the trigger frame is an NDP trigger or thatthe trigger is for bandwidth reporting, channel availability reportingor both. The Length sub-field 1304 may indicate the value of the L-SIGLength field of the expected UL response frame. This sub-field may alsoimplicitly indicate a request for an NDP response if it is set to coverthe enhanced LTF fields but not the MAC data field. The Number of HE-LTFSymbols sub-field 1306 may indicate the enhanced LTF symbols in theexpected UL response frame. In the example illustrated in FIG. 13 , thesub-field 1306 is set to 2 and, thus, two spatial streams may beexpected. The Spatial Reuse sub-field 1308 may, for example, not bepermitted for NDP response.

Other sub-fields, such as the STBC sub-field 1310, the LDCP Extra Symbolsub-field 1312, the Packet Extension sub-field 1314, and the Dopplersub-field 1316 may be re-interpreted if the Trigger Type sub-field 1302or the Length sub-field 1304 indicate that this is an NDP type triggerand/or a trigger for a bandwidth request and may, thus, be used forother purposes. For example, the bits may be used to indicate that theAP may signal the RU/spatial index allocation for one channel withbasic/minimum bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz for IEEE 802.11ax) and may allowthe STAs to use the RU/spatial index allocation for all of the availablechannels with the basic/minimum bandwidth. In an example, the AP maycheck the channel availability of STA1 and STA2 on all of the channels(e.g., channel 1 and 2). Once the bits are set, the AP may need tosignal the RU/spatial index allocation for one basic channel, and theSTAs may use it for both channel 1 and channel 2.

FIG. 14 is a diagram 1400 of an example User Information field of atrigger frame. The example User Information field illustrated in FIG. 14includes a number of sub-fields, including an AID sub-field 1402, an RUAllocation sub-field 1404, a Coding Type sub-field 1406, an MCSsub-field 1408, a DCM sub-field 1410, and an SS Allocation sub-field1412. The AID sub-field 1402 may indicate the STA AID. The RU Allocationsub-field 1404 may indicate the RU allocation as usual. Alternatively,if only RU allocation on a basic/minimum channel (e.g., 20 MHz channelin IEEE 802.11ax) is needed (e.g., as signaled using the CommonInformation field), this sub-field may be modified to use less bits. TheCoding Type sub-field 1406, the MCS sub-field 1408, and the DCMsub-field 1410 may be re-interpreted for other purposes if desired. TheSS Allocation sub-field 1412 may indicate the spatial streams allocatedto the STA.

The USS frame transmitted from one or more STAs to an AP may use anenhanced trigger-based PPDU, which may carry a preamble and no MACpacket. For example, STA2 may be allocated to respond on RU1-2 on bothchannels 1 and 2 using spatial stream 2. STA2 may transmit an USS frame,such as the USS frame illustrated in FIG. 15 .

FIG. 15 is a diagram 1500 of an example USS frame. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 15 , the USS frame is transmitted by STA2 onchannel 1. The legacy part of the preamble, including, for example, theL-STF field 1502, the L-LTF field 1504, the L-SIG field 1506, the RL-SIGfield 1508, and the enhanced SIG-A field 1510, may be transmitted usingthe entire channel. The enhanced part of the preamble, including, forexample, the enhanced STF field 1512 and the enhanced LTF field 1514,may be transmitted on the assigned RUs with the assigned spatial stream.The PPDU may be repeated without phase rotation on channel 2.

In another example embodiment of split CTS and USS, the AP may transmitan MU-RTS to a set of STAs with the allocated resources on which theSTAs may transmit simultaneous CTS. The MU-RTS may also include NAVinformation, for example, in the preamble or MAC header, to reserve themedium for the channels on which the MU-RTS is transmitted. Whenreceiving the MU-RTS, a STA may transmit a CTS on the allocatedresources indicated in the MU-RTS if the STA is not prevented fromtransmitting the CTS, for example, by NAV or carrier sensing, and if theSTA is the intended recipient of the MU-RTS.

If the AP does not receive a CTS frame in response to the MU-RTS, it maytransmit a second trigger frame to poll the availability of the STAs ondifferent channels or sub-channels. Additionally or alternatively, theAP may transmit a trigger frame to poll the availability of the STAs ondifferent channels or sub-channels without first transmitting an MU-RTSframe. The AP may transmit a second trigger frame, which may be avariant of the trigger frame, following receipt of at least one CTSframe from at least one of the intended STAs.

The second trigger frame, or a variant of the trigger frame iftransmitted for polling without sending an MU-RTS first, may include oneor more of, for the intended set of STAs, a STA ID, allocated resources,user specific sequences or an index of user specific sequences of STAs.The STA ID may be the ID of the STAs, such as the MAC address,compressed MAC address, AID of the STA, Group ID, or one or morespecific AIDs that are meant for a specific purpose, such as randomaccess, in the Per User Information field.

With regard to allocated resources, the AP may specify the allocatedresources for the STAs to transmit their USS frame to indicate theirchannel or sub-channel availability, for example, the channels,sub-channels or RUs on which the STAs should indicate theiravailability. Availability may include, for example, channel conditions,spatial reuse opportunities, or STA capabilities. Additionally oralternatively, the AP may indicate the granularity of RUs and/orchannels for which the STAs should indicate their availability. Forexample, the AP may indicate that STAs may indicate their availabilitiesfor, for example, 26-subcarrier RUs or 52-subcarrier RUs. The size ofdifferent RUs may be subject to channels or sub-channels as indicatedin, for example, the Common Information field or Per User Informationfield of the trigger frame. In one embodiment, the AP may indicate thatSTA 1 should provide its availability on 26-SC RUs in channel 1 and/or3. In another embodiment, the AP may indicate in the common informationfield the channel that the set of STAs should provide their availabilityas well as the RU size for. In yet another embodiment, the bandwidth ofthe trigger frame may implicitly indicate the channel for which the STAsshould provide their availabilities. In another embodiment, theallocated resources on which the STAs are assigned to transmit theirCTS, as indicated in the MU-RTS, may indicate the channel for which STAsshould provide their availability.

With regard to the user specific sequences or index of user specificsequences, the AP may indicate, for example, in the User Specific fieldof the trigger frame, the user specific sequence or index or indices ofthe user specific sequence to be used by the STAs to indicate theiravailabilities to the AP. Such user specific sequence may be orthogonal.For example, such user specific sequence may be associated withP-matrices or Zadoff-Chu sequences. The index of the USS may beassociated with a pre-assigned sequence, such as one or more elements,rows, or columns of pre-defined P-matrices. For example, the USS may beindicated by Spatial Stream numbers, which may be associated with aspecific P-matrix. The specific P-matrix used may be indicated in thetrigger frame or may be explicitly or implicitly indicated by theindicated channels, sub-channels and/or RU sizes. The AP may assign oneor more USSs to a particular STA, for example, on one or more RUs.

The second trigger frame may include duration information in itspreamble and/or MAC header to conduct medium reservation to set the NAVat receiving STAs except those STAs that are the intended recipients ofthe trigger frame. For example, the AP may send the second trigger frameto a group of STAs for UL random access, with one or more allocatedchannels, and for some RU size.

When a STA receives the trigger frame for polling for channelavailability, it may respond by transmitting a USS to the AP. The USSmay include a legacy header. The USS may be transmitted as a part of theUL trigger-based PPDU. The USS may only contain a preamble and may be aNull Data Packet. The USS may be modulated by the user specific sequenceonly on the STA's available channels. The USS may be modulated on allchannels, sub-channels and/or RUs in the indicated channel with encodingto indicate available or preferred channels, sub-channels and/or RUs.For UL random access, the STAs may randomly select one or more userspecific sequence and one or more available RU, channel and/orsub-channel and transmit its USS using the chosen USS on one or more RU,channel and/or sub-channel.

In embodiments, only STAs that have previously responded to an MU-RTSwith a CTS may transmit a USS using the user specific sequence orsequences and resource allocation included in the second trigger framesent by the AP. In other embodiments, all STAs addressed by the MU-RTSand/or the second trigger frame may respond to the second trigger framegiven that it is allowed by the second trigger frame to transmit onresources that are available and/or preferred, even if they have notbeen able to previously transmit a CTS to respond to the MU-RTS becausethe indicated resource in the MU-RTS is not available.

The USS may include a duration in its preamble and/or MAC header toconduct medium reservation. The USS from a particular STA may includeone or more fields, such as one or more LTF fields, which may bemodulated by one or more user specific sequence, such as P-matrixelements, rows and columns. In addition, each symbol, field, and/orsubfield may be modulated and/or encoded with 1 or more bits of data,for example, by phase rotation or other methods. Such data may be usedto indicate whether the STA is available on a particular RU or channeland may also be used to indicate whether the availability of the STA islimited by spatial reuse and/or channel conditions or user capabilities.Such data may also be used to indicate whether a channel, sub-channeland/or RU is preferred or not preferred.

On a condition that the AP receives one or more USSs from the STAs, itmay transmit DL traffic (1228 in FIG. 12 ) in the form of a DL MU packetto one or more STAs on RUs on which the STAs have indicated availabilityor preferences in their USS's. Additionally or alternatively, when theAP receives one or more USS from the STAs, it may then transmit anothertrigger frame to trigger UL data from the set of STAs with resourcesallocated to STAs (such as sub-channels, RUs, channels, and/or spatialstreams) according to the STAs' availability and/or preference indicatedby the STAs in their USS.

To prevent AGC at the AP receiver from being overwhelmed by the amountof received energy from simultaneous CTS, the AP may set a desiredtransmit power for each user. This transmit power may be explicitlysignaled in the HE-SIG-B field of the MU-RTS preamble or in the MAC bodyof the MU-RTS frame. Alternatively, the AP may implicitly signal thetransmit power to be used by each STA.

If no power control is used, each STA typically transmits frames withthe maximum power allowed. If power control is used, each STA may havepreviously negotiated a desired transmit power with the AP to ensurethat the transmitted signal is received at a desired receive powerlevel. Alternatively, the AP may indicate the desired receive powerlevel to all of the STAs in HE-SIG fields and/or the MAC body of theMU-RTS frame. In embodiments, this may be referred to as the nominalpower. In one embodiment, the STAs may transmit the simultaneous CTSwith their transmit powers reduced by a value that is a function of thenumber of users transmitting the simultaneous CTS. For example, with twousers, the STAs may transmit at their maximum transmit power or thenominal transmit power reduced by 3 dB or some other function of two. Inembodiments, the STAs may not reduce the power by the entire 3 dB toensure that all hidden nodes are able to over-hear the CTS frames.

In other embodiments, the AP may designate specific STAs as thesimultaneous CTS STAs. In such embodiments, the goal of the simultaneousCTS may be to clear the medium rather than to identify whether a STA isready to transmit data. The AP may identify specific STAs at differentcorners of the network and may specify their transmit powers. If the APneeds to clear the channel, it may send an MU-RTS to the STAs andrequire a simultaneous CTS from those specific STAs.

In another embodiment for enabling an AP to identify the specific STAsthat reply to MU-RTS with simultaneous CTS, the AP may estimate thenumber of STAs that reply to the MU-RTS based on the energy receivedduring the simultaneous CTS. This embodiment may be combined with otherembodiments, such as with the AP sending transmit power levelinformation explicitly and/or implicitly to each of the STAs, to improvethe expected energy. In such a combined embodiment, the AP may, based onthe estimate, decide to schedule the users anyway, schedule a new set ofusers, end the MU transmission (MU TXOP truncation) or initiate a frameexchange to further identify the STAs that are available to send data.If the AP schedules a new set of users, the new set of users may be asubset of users previously addressed by an MU-RTS frame and/or a set ofusers who may not be addressed by the previous MU-RTS transmission.

FIG. 16 is a diagram 1600 of an example of MU-RTS and simultaneous CTSoperation with energy measurement. In the example illustrated in FIG. 16, an AP 1102 sends an MU-RTS 1112 to multiple STAs 1104, 1106, 1108 and1110. The AP may set the desired transmit power for each STA 1104, 1106,1108, 1110 in the MU-RTS 1112. This desired transmit power may besignaled in the HE-SIG-B of the MU-RTS 1112 and/or the MAC body of theMU-RTS frame. Alternatively, the AP 1102 may set the desired receivepower level and the AP transmit power in the MU-RTS frame (e.g., in theHE-SIG-B field and/or MAC body part). The AP may also set simultaneousCTS power scaling for the STAs. In such an embodiment, each STA 1104,1106, 1108, 1110 may reduce its maximum or nominal transmit power by theamount specified in the MU-RTS. The AP may also require the STAs tochange their transmit power and use either their nominal or maximumtransmit powers during the simultaneous CTS transmission.

An inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS duration) after the MU-RTS 1112, theSTAs 1104, 1106, 1108, and 1110 may send simultaneous CTSs 1114 a, 1114b, 1114 c, 1114 d to the AP via an MU-CTS (not shown), and the AP 1102may measure the received energy. On a condition that the received energyis greater than a threshold, the AP 1102 may assume that most of theSTAs sent the simultaneous CTS. An inter-frame space (e.g., SIFSduration) after the AP receives the simultaneous CTS, the AP 1102 maysend a regular trigger frame 1116 to schedule the user data. The STAs1104, 1106, 1108 and 1110 may send their data 1118 a, 1118 b, 1118 c,1118 d, respectively, on the scheduled resource, and, in response, theAP 1102 may send a block acknowledgement (ACK) 1120 to the STAs 1104,1106, 1108 and 1110.

FIG. 17 is a diagram 1700 of another example of MU-RTS and simultaneousCTS operation with energy measurement. In the example illustrated inFIG. 17 , the AP 1202 sends the MU-RTS 1212 to multiple STAs 1204, 1206,1208, and 1210. The AP 1202 may set the desired transmit power for eachSTA 1204, 1206, 1208, 1210 in the MU-RTS 1212 similar to the embodimentdescribed above with respect to FIG. 16 . An inter-frame space (e.g.,SIFS duration) after the MU-RTS 1212, the STAs 1204 and 1210 that areable to detect the MU-RTS 1212 may send simultaneous CTSs 1214, 1216 tothe AP 1202, and the AP 1202 may measure the received energy.

On a condition that the received energy is less than a threshold, the AP1202 may assume that multiple users failed to reply during thesimultaneous CTS and may take steps to resolve this failure. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 17 , the AP 1202 may cancel thesubsequent transmission by sending a CF-END frame 1218, or a similarframe, an inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS duration) after the AP 1202receives the simultaneous CTS.

FIG. 18 is a diagram 1800 of an example of MU-RTS with simultaneous CTSwith CTS trigger. In the example illustrated in FIG. 18 , the AP 1302sends the MU-RTS 1312 to multiple STAs 1304, 1306, 1308, and 1310. TheAP 1302 may set the desired transmit power for each STA 1304, 1306,1308, 1310 in the MU-RTS 1312 similar to the embodiments described abovewith respect to FIGS. 12 and 13 . An inter-frame space (e.g., SIFSduration) after the MU-RTS 1312, the STAs 1304 and 1310 that are able todetect the MU-RTS 1312 may send simultaneous CTSs 1314, 1316 to the AP1302, and the AP 1302 may measure the received energy.

On a condition that the received energy is less than a threshold, the AP1302 may assume that multiple users failed to reply during thesimultaneous CTS and may take steps to resolve this failure. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 18 , the AP 1302 may then send aseparable MU-RTS 1318 an inter-frame space (e.g. SIFS duration) afterreceiving the simultaneous CTS to enable it to identify the specificSTAs that are ready to send data. In the MU-RTS frame, the AP 1302 mayindicate that CTS frames transmitted using an MU-PPDU are expected. Thefollowing CTS frames 1320, 1322 may use an OFDMA-based CTS, a UL_MU-MIMObased CTS, and/or a code-separable CTS. However, the CTSs should beseparable and identifiable. In embodiments, on a condition that a STA isready to send information with a packet size less than a threshold, theSTA may send the information in place of the scheduled CTS.

An inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS duration) after the AP receives theCTSs 1320, 1322, the AP may send a regular trigger frame 1324 toschedule data transmission. The AP 1302 may also reserve some resourcesfor a Random Access CTS. The AP may then schedule the user in thesubsequent trigger frame.

When an AP transmits a trigger frame or a DL MU frame, one or more STAsmay respond using UL MU PPDUs. When a STA that is supposed to transmiton certain sub-channels, channels or resource blocks fails to transmit,other STAs may erroneously assume that the medium is free and may startto use the channel, sub-channels or resources for their owntransmissions. In another example, when an AP transmits a trigger framefor random access, some channels, sub-channels or resource blocks may beempty since no STAs have chosen the channel, sub-channels or resourceblocks for UL transmissions. In addition, when a number of STAs fail totransmit over their channels, sub-channels or resource blocks, the totalenergy detected over the entire or partial channel may be below adetection threshold, such as Energy Detection (ED), OBSS_ED, SignalDetection (SD), or OBSS_SD level. STAs, such as OBSS STAs, may start totransmit using the channel, sub-channels or partial channels, causinginterruptions and interference to the ongoing transmissions. This may beparticularly severe when cascading structures with alternating DL and ULSU and/or MU transmissions are used.

An AP may occupy the empty channels, sub-channels or resource blocks notused in UL transmissions by transmitting packets or energy on the emptychannels, sub-channels or resource blocks to prevent other STAs, such asOBSS STAs, from using all or part of the channels, sub-channels orresource blocks for their transmissions. To do this, after transmittinga trigger frame, DL MU PPDU, DL PPDU, or aggregated packet or packetsthat include a trigger frame soliciting responses from multiple STAs, anAP may monitor all channels, sub-channels and resource blocks in whichresponse frames are expected. These channels, sub-channels and resourceblocks may have been indicated in the resource allocation, such as inthe previous trigger frames, DL MU PPDUs, or DL PPDUs.

If within a certain period (e.g., after a S IFS period) the AP hasdetected the start of PPDUs (e.g., as reported by thePHY-RXStart.indication primitive from the PHY layer), the AP maycontinue receiving these packets. If within a certain period (e.g.,after a SIFS period) the AP has not detected the start of the PPDUs onone or more channels, sub-channels or resource blocks, the AP may, aftera period (e.g., a PIFS period), transmit a packet or a null data packet(NDP) on one or more of the channels, sub-channels or resource blocks ortransmit energy on one or more subcarriers within these channels,sub-channels or resource blocks to keep them occupied. Such atransmission on the unused channels, sub-channels or resource blocks mayuse a narrower spectral mask than the channels, sub-channels or resourceblocks in order to prevent interference for the channels, sub-channelsor resource blocks on which the AP is currently receiving frames. Such atransmission on these unused channels, sub-channels or resources blocksmay also be conducted by using one or more TX/RX chains that may or maynot have been previously used for reception.

In order to support reception of the trigger-based UL PPDUs, thePHY-RXStart.indication primitive may need to be updated. In particular,the parameter for PHY-RXstart.indication, the RXVector, may need to beenhanced. When the frame format is detected to be MU PPDU ortrigger-based UL PPDU, the RXVector may contain a number of users. Thechannels, sub-channels or resource blocks used by each user may belisted. Such number of users and channels, sub-channels or resourceblocks used by each user may be included in the TXVECTOR as well. Inaddition, the unused channels, sub-channels or resource blocks may beidentified in the RXVECTOR. Similarly, the MCSs, TXPower, and RXPower(e.g., receiver channel power indicator (RCPI)), may be specified in theTXVector and/or RXVector for each user, channel, channel or resourceblock associated with the MU PPDU or trigger based UL PPDU.

Another new issue may concern protection from legacy devices, which maybe more important in densely deployed systems than protection fromhidden notes. In embodiments, MU half protection capability may be usedto indicate that a device is capable of performing half protection forMU transmissions, and the MU half protection capability may be set inthe MU capability field, other capability field and/or other informationelement, which may be transmitted in a Beacon frame, an Association orRe-Association Request/Response frame, Prob Request/Response frameand/or other type of frame by the AP and STAs. Alternatively, DL MU halfprotection, UL MU half protection and cascading half protectioncapabilities may be separately indicated in the above-mentioned fieldsand frames.

FIG. 19 is a diagram 1900 of an example of half protection for DL MUtransmission. In the example illustrated in FIG. 19 , an AP 1402 maystart a DL MU TXOP using a CTS-to-Self or a CTS-to-AP frame 1408. Therandom access (RA) field in the frame 1408 may be set to the MAC addressof the AP. The duration field may be set to the end of the DL MU TXOP.The AP 1402 may continue transmitting a DL MU PPDU 1410 to STAs 1404 and1406 an inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS period) after the end ofCTS-to-Self or CTS-to-AP frame 1408.

FIG. 20 is a diagram 2000 of another example of half protection for DLMU transmission. In the example illustrated in FIG. 20 , an AP 1502 maystart a DL MU TXOP using a CTS-to-Self or a CTS-to-AP frame 1508. The RAfield in the frame may be set to the MAC address of the AP. The durationfield may be set to the end of the DL MU TXOP. The AP may continuetransmitting a trigger frame 1510 an inter-frame space (e.g., SIFSperiod) after the end of CTS-to-Self or CTS-to-AP frame 1508. Thetrigger frame 1510 may indicate that it has a trigger type MU-RTS orother type.

STAs, such as STAs 1504 and 1506, that are addressed by the triggerframe 1510 may transmit a newly defined MU CTS frame 1512, 1514 aninter-frame space (e.g., SIFS period) after the end of the trigger frame1510 if the NAV at the STAs receiving the MU-RTS frame indicate that themedium is idle. In an alternative method, the STAs may transmit CTSframes that may be carried using an MU PPDU. In response to receivingthe MU CTS frames 1512, 1514, the AP 1502 may know which STAs are readyto receive DL MU packets, and the AP 1502 may schedule the availableSTAs for DL transmission using an MU frame 1516.

FIG. 21 is a diagram 2100 of an example of half protection for UL MUtransmission. In the example illustrated in FIG. 21 , an AP 1602 startsa UL MU TXOP using a CTS-to-Self or a CTS-to-AP frame 1608. The RA fieldin the frame may be set to MAC address of the AP. The duration field maybe set to the end of the UL MU TXOP. The AP may continue transmitting aDL trigger frame 1610 an inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS period) after theend of the CTS-to-Self or CTS-to-AP frame 1610.

STAs 1604 and 1606 triggered by the trigger frame 1610 may update theNAV set by the preceding CTS-to-Self/CTS-to-AP frame 1608 and transmitUL MU PPDU frames 1612, 1614 an inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS period)after the end of the trigger frame transmission 1610. The AP 1602 mayrespond with an ACK or Multi-STA ACK 1616.

FIG. 22 is a diagram 2200 of an example of half protection for cascadingMU transmission. An AP 1702 may start a cascading MU-TXOP using or notusing a CTS-to-Self or a CTS-to-AP frame (not shown). In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 22 , in the middle of the cascading transmission,the AP 1702 performs a half protection using a CTS-to-Self or aCTS-to-AP frame 1704. The RA field in the frame may be set to the MACaddress of the AP. The duration field may be set to the end of thecascading MU TXOP. The AP may use the CTS-to-Self or CTS-to-AP frame1704 to update, extend and/or reduce the NAV setting for the current MUTXOP. The AP may continue transmitting a DL MU PPDU 1706 an inter-framespace (e.g., SIFS period) after the end of CTS-to-Self or CTS-to-APframe 1704. The DL MU PPDU 1706 may carry a trigger frame, controlframes, management frames, and/or data frames.

MU dual protection capability, which may be used to indicate that thedevice is capable of performing dual protection for MU transmissions,may be set in the MU capability field, other capability field and/orother information element, which may be transmitted in a Beacon frame,Re-Association or Association Request/Response frame, a ProbRequest/Response frame and/or other type of frame by the AP and STAs.Alternatively, DL MU dual protection, UL MU dual protection andcascading dual protection capabilities may be separately indicated inthe above-mentioned fields and frames.

FIG. 23 is a diagram 2300 of an example of dual protection for a DL MUtransmission. In the example illustrated in FIG. 23 , an AP 1802 startsa DL MU TXOP using an MU-RTS/trigger frame 1808. In the MU-RTS/triggerframe 1808, the AP 1802 may indicate that a dual protection mechanism isbeing used. STAs 1804 and 1806 addressed by the MU-RTS frame 1808 maytransmit CTS frames 1810, 1812 an inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS period)after the end of the MU-RTS/trigger frame 1808 if the NAV at the STAreceiving the MU-RTS frame indicates that the medium is idle in some orall of the sub-channels.

STAs 1804 and 1806 addressed by the MU-RTS frame 1808 may transmit anMU-CTS frame 1814, 1816 an inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS period) afterthe end of the CTS frames 1810, 1812 if the NAV at the STA receiving theMU-RTS frame indicates that the medium is idle in some or all of thesub-channels. The transmission of MU-CTS frame 1814, 1816 may be on aresource unit (RU) basis or a 20 MHz sub-channel basis. The MU-CTS frame1814, 1816 may be a frame modified from a CTS frame. The MU-CTS frame1814, 1816 may carry the STA ID, STA MAC address and/or STA signature,which the AP may use to distinguish the transmitters of the MU-CTSframes 1814, 1816. The MU-CTS frames 1814, 1816 may also carryinformation about the sub-channel and/or RU preference indication thatthe AP 1802 may use for resource allocation or scheduling. The MU-CTSframes 1814, 1816 may be transmitted in afrequency/time/space/power/code division multiplexing way. The AP 1802may continue transmitting a DL MU PPDU 1818 an inter-frame space (e.g.,SIFS period) after the end of MU-CTS frames 1814, 1816.

FIG. 24 is a diagram 2400 of another example of dual protection for a DLMU transmission. In the example illustrated in FIG. 24 , an AP 1902starts a DL MU TXOP using a MU-RTS/trigger frame 1908. In theMU-RTS/trigger frame 1908, the AP 1902 may indicate that a dualprotection mechanism is being used. Instead of transmitting a CTS framean inter-frame space after the MU-RTS frame as in FIG. 23 , in theexample illustrated in FIG. 24 , the STAs 1904 and 1906 addressed by theMU-RTS frame 1908 transmit CTS-to-Self frames 1910, 1912 an inter-framespace (e.g., SIFS period) after the end of the MU-RTS frame 1908 if theNAV at the STA receiving the MU-RTS frame indicates that the medium isidle in some or all of the sub-channels.

FIG. 25 is a diagram 2500 of an example of dual protection for a UL MUtransmission. In the example illustrated in FIG. 25 , a STA 2004 beginsa UL transmission using an RTS frame 2008. An AP 2002 may, however,decide to use the time slot for a UL MU TXOP. If this is the case, theAP 2002 addressed by the RTS frame 2008 may transmit a CTS frame 2010 tothe STA 2004. If both the STA 2004 and the AP 2002 have the capabilityfor UL dual protection, the AP 2002 may transmit an MU-CTS/trigger frame2012 an inter-frame space (e.g., xIFS period) after the end of the CTStransmission 2010. The xIFS may be equal to or less than a SIFS period,such that the STA 2004 may not be able to start a normal datatransmission a SIFS period after receiving the CTS frame 2010. In theMU-CTS/trigger frame 2012, the AP 2002 may indicate and schedule a UL MUTXOP. STAs addressed by the MU-RTS frame may transmit CTS frames aninter-frame space (e.g., SIFS period) after the MU-RTS frame if the NAVat the STA receiving the MU-RTS frame indicates that the medium is idlein some or all of the sub-channels. STAs 2004 and 2006 addressed by theMU-CTS frame 2012 may transmit UL MU frames 2014, 2016 an inter-framespace (e.g., SIFS period) after the MU-CTS frame 2012. The AP 2002 maytransmit ACK frames and/or a multi-user BA 2018 after the reception ofUL MU frames 2014, 2016.

With cascading MU TXOP, the dual protection mechanism for both the DLand UL may be applied. The protection frame exchanges may occur at thebeginning and/or in the middle of the cascading MU TXOP. The protectionmechanism may be initiated by an AP or a non-AP STA. The protectionmechanism in the middle of the cascading MU TXOP may be used to updatethe NAV setting. The updating may include extending/reducing/truncatingthe current TXOP.

FIG. 26 is a diagram 2600 of another example of dual protection for a ULMU transmission. In the example illustrated in FIG. 26 , instead oftransmitting a CTS frame a SIFS period after the RTS frame, the AP 2102may transmit a CTS-to-Self frame 2108 an inter-frame space (e.g., xIFSperiod) after the end of the RTS frame 2106 if the NAV at the AP 2102receiving the RTS frame 2106 indicates that the medium is idle in someor all of the sub-channels. In this scenario, the STAs and the AP mayindicate that they have capability for UL dual protection. Thus, theSTAs may expect a CTS or CTS-to-Self frame after transmitting an RTSframe.

In embodiments, a system may need to mandate protection mechanisms(e.g., RTS/CTS protection, MU-RTS/CTS protection or other type ofprotection) for any directional transmission starting from the legacypreamble. A capability field may be set to indicate that a STA iscapable of directional transmission starting from the beginning of thepacket, including both the legacy part and HE part. The capabilityinformation may be included in the HE MU capability field.

Another issue may concern the use of directional transmissions when anOBSS NAV is set. FIG. 27 is a diagram 2700 illustrating a situationwhere an OBSS NAV unnecessarily prohibits a directional transmission. Inthe example illustrated in FIG. 27 , STA 2202 is capable of sending a ULdirectional transmission 2208 to AP 2204. However, its TXOP isconstrained by an OBSS NAV set by an OBSS trigger frame 2212 from OBSSAP 2209 and the responding OBSS UL frame 2210 from OBSS STA 2206. FIG.28 is a diagram 2800 illustrating a situation where an OBSS does not seea directional transmission from a neighboring BSS. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 28 , the STA 2302 sends a directional transmission2306 to an AP 2304. The OBSS AP 2308 does not see the directionaltransmission 2306 and starts its own TXOP, which may cause the OBSS NAVto be set. The STA 2306 may later refrain from sending furtherdirectional transmissions because the OBSS NAV is set. Embodimentsdescribed herein may address these issues by enabling a STA, such STA2202 or 2302, to determine whether its UL directional transmission mayoccur while the OBSS NAV is set. One way to do this may be to send OBSSfacilitating information (OFI) that STAs may detect and use to determinewhether they may send UL directional transmissions while an OBSS NAV isset.

FIGS. 29A and 29B are diagrams 2900A and 2900B of an example of usingOFI to indicate to a STA whether directional transmissions may be sentwhile an OBSS NAV is set. In the example illustrated in FIGS. 29A and29B, a STA 2401 sends a first directional UL frame 2403 to AP 2405.Meanwhile, the OBSS AP 2402 begins a TXOP by transmitting an OBSStrigger frame 2412 for STAs 2406 and 2408. The trigger frame 2412 mayinclude the OFI. The OFI may carry information such as, for example, thestart time of the TXOP started by the trigger frame 2412 (e.g., a timestamp or a time offset regarding a known reference), a CCA threshold forthe AP 2402 and/or an average receive power level during the CCA sensingperiod before the first trigger frame 2412. In embodiments, the OFI maybe carried in a DL control or management frame (e.g., a trigger frame ora multi-STA block ACK frame), transmitted by the AP 2402, and/or a ULcontrol/management frame (e.g., ACK frame) transmitted by non-AP STAs.

The OFI may also be signaled in subsequent trigger frames or other DLframes from the OBSS AP 2402 to facilitate the STA 2401 learning theimpact, if any, of its previous directional transmission 2403. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 29A, for example, the OBSS AP 2402 may sendthe OFI in an OBSS trigger frame 2410 for OBSS STA 2404, which the STA2401 may overhear. From the OFI, the STA 2401 may conclude that the OBSSAP 2402 did not observe its previous directional transmission 2403 orthe DL BA (not shown) as interference based on the determination thatthe OBSS AP 2402 started a TXOP in the middle of the directionaltransmission 2403 from STA 2401 and the determination that the OBSSUL/DL PPDU 2409 that overlapped with the directional transmission 2403and the DL BA were correctly received by the OBSS AP 2402.

Based on this determination, the STA 2401 may continue decrementing itsbackoff timer on a condition that the determination was made that thedirectional transmission 2403 did not interfere with the OBSS, the OBSSNAV was set by the second OBSS trigger frame 2410 based on possiblealternative physical sensing mechanisms and/or virtual physical sensingmechanisms and the intra-BSS NAV is not set. The STA 2401 may performanother directional transmission during this duration even though theOBSS NAV is set. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 29B, the STA 2401may send another directional transmission 2420 that may overlap, forexample, with a UL frame transmission 2422 from the OBSS AP 2402 to theSTA 2404 while the OBSS NAV is set. The STA 2401 may or may not truncatethe directional transmission 2420 that may be overlapping with an OBSStransmission, such as the UL frame transmission 2422, according to theOBSS TXOP duration.

Without OBSS NAV, STA 2401 may use the same directional antenna patternfor carrier sensing as well as for receiving. This carrier sensing mayensure that the OBSS transmission will not cause interference when theSTA 2401 receives a DL ACK from the OBSS AP 2402. To avoid intra BSScollision, and to prevent interference to the OBSS AP 2402 during theOBSS UL duration, the STA 2401 may send an RTS frame in a directionaltransmission to its associated AP 2405, and the AP 2405 may reply with aCTS frame using an omni-directional transmission to reserve the air timein the BSS.

Another new issue may concern the NAV set by an RTS frame being subjectto reset by a STA that overhears the RTS frame if neither the respondingCTS frame nor the beginning of a data frame are overheard by the STA.For example, a STA that uses information from an RTS frame as the mostrecent basis to update its NAV setting may be permitted to reset its NAVif no PHY-RXSTART.indication primitive is received from the PHY during aperiod with a duration of(2×aSIFSTime)+(CTS_Time)+aRxPHYStartDelay+(2×aSlotTime) starting at thePHY-RXEND.indication primitive corresponding to the detection of the RTSframe. This behavior may be necessary for HE-STAs because the intendedrecipient of an (MU-)RTS frame may not respond due to interference, OBSSNAV busy, or other reasons.

An HE-preamble may be designed such that a STA may acquire the TXOPduration (NAV)/color information without decoding the entire MU PPDUframe. However, it is not clear how a STA would know that the TXOPduration set by a PPDU is subject to NAV reset if it only decodes up tothe HE-preamble. Embodiments described herein may address this issue,for example, by providing different TXOP duration values in theHE-preamble and MAC header.

In embodiments, the TXOP duration in HE-SIG-A may be madedifferent/shorter than the duration/NAV in the MAC header of a framewith a NAV that is subject to reset. For example, the duration in theMAC header of an OBSS MU-RTS may be set to T to signal the NAV settingof the corresponding CTS frame. While the TXOP duration in the HE-SIG-Afield of the MU-RTS frame may be set to a_t, which may be the durationneeded to complete, for example, a SIFSTime plus the number ofmicroseconds required to transmit the CTS frame at a data ratedetermined by the MU-RTS frame. Alternatively, the transmitter of anMU-RTS frame may always set the TXOP duration in the HE-SIG-A field thesame as the duration in the MAC header, but it may perform PIFS recoveryor TXOP truncation (CF-End) if no response is received from the intendedreceiver.

FIG. 30 is a diagram 3000 of three pre-HE-STF preamble formats. Thethree preamble formats illustrated in FIG. 30 include the SU format2502, the MU format 2504 and the extended range SU format 2506. The SUformat 2502 and the MU format 2504 may be mandatory, and the SU format2502 may be for trigger-based UL. In the examples illustrated in FIG. 30, L-SIG length set as mod 3=1 may indicate the SU format and L-SIGlength set as mod 3=2 may indicate either the MU format or the extendedrange SU format. QBPSK on the HE-SIGA2 field may indicate the extendedrange SU format. Table 1 below provides the format of the HE-SIG-A fieldfor an HE SU PPDU. Table 2 below provides the format of the HE-SIG-Afield for an HE MU PPDU. Table 3 below provides the format of theHE-SIG-A field for an HE trigger-based UL PPDU.

TABLE 1 Length Field (bits) Description Encoding DL/UL 1 Indicateswhether the frame is UL or DL. The field is set to DL for TDLS. Format 1Differentiate between an SU PPDU and a Trigger-based UL PPDU. BSS Color6 Base station identifier. Spatial Reuse TBD E.g., indication of CCALevel, Interference Level accepted, TX Power TXOP Duration TBD Indicatesthe remaining time in the current TXOP. Bandwidth 2 MCS 4 CP + LTF Size3 1 × LTF + 0.8 μS 2 × LTF + 0.8 μS 2 × LTF + 1.6 μS 4 × LTF + 3.2 μSCoding 2 Nsts 3 STBC 1 TxBF 1 DCM 1 Dual carrier modulation indicationPacket Extension 3 “a”—factor field of 2 bits and 1 disambiguation bitBeam Change 1 Indicate precoder change/no change between L-LTF andHE-LTF. CRC 4 Tail 6

TABLE 2 Length Field (bits) Description Encoding DL/UL 1 BSS Color 6Base station identifier. Spatial Reuse TBD TXOP Duration TBD Indicatesthe remaining time in the current TXOP. Bandwidth ≥2 May accommodatemore than in SU case to take advantage of OFDMA SIGB MCS 3 MCS0, MCS1,MCS2, MCS3, MCS4, MCS5 Other MCS TBD SIGBDCM 1 SIGB Number Of 4 Supportabout 16 users using MCSO per Symbols BCC SIGB Compression ≥1Differentiates full bandwidth MU-MIMO Mode from OFDMA MU PPDU. Number ofHE-LTF 3 Up to 8 LTF symbols possible Symbols CP + LTF Size 3 2 × LTF +0.8 μS 2 × LTF + 1.6 μS 4 × LTF + 3.2 μS LPDC Extra 1 Symbol PacketExtension 3 CRC 4 Tail 6

TABLE 3 Length Field (bits) Description Encoding Format 1 Differentiatebetween an SU PPDU and a Trigger-based UL PPDU BSS Color 6 Base stationidentifier. Spatial Reuse TBD TXOP Duration TBD Indicates the remainingtime in the current TXOP. Bandwidth TBD CRC 4 Tail 6

However, some redundancies exist in the defined formats. For example, atrigger-based UL PPDU should use L-SIG Length Mod 3=1 (SU format).However, in Table 3, there is no DL/UL bit preceding the format field.This leaves some question as to how a receiver may decide how tointerpret the two different formats provided in Table 1 and Table 3. Foranother example, if a triggered-based UL PPDU is signaled using L-SIGLength Mod 3=1 (sent by the STA), L-SIG Length Mod 3=2 may be used forthe DL HE MU PPDU (sent by the AP). When a receiver receives a framewith L-SIG Length Mod 3=2 and detects HE-SIG-A2 BPSK, then it maydetermine that it is a DL HE MU PPDU. Hence, the DL/UL is redundant.Alternatively, if a trigger-based UL PPDU uses L-SIG Length Mod 3=2 (MUformat/extended range SU), when a receiver receives a packet with L-SIGLength Mod 3=1, it may determine that the packet is an SU packet. Thus,the Format bit in Tables 1 and 3 may not be needed. Embodimentsdescribed herein may reduce or eliminate such redundancies.

A trigger-based UL PPDU may be signaled using L-SIG length mod 3=1. Withthis arrangement, the direction of an MU PPDU may be implicitly signaledsuch that, for the DL direction, L-SIG length mod 3=2 and BPSKmodulation is used for HE-SIG-A2 (second symbol of HE-SIG-A), and forthe UL direction (UL trigger-based PPDU), L-SIG length mod 3=1 and anHE-SIG-A format bit is included that indicates it is not an SU formatPPDU. Further, in Table 1, the format bit may be moved to precede theDL/UL flag in Table 1, and there may be no need to add the DL/UL bit inTable 3. In Table 2, the UL/DL bit may be removed. Thus, the space usedby the DL/UL bit may be used for other purposes, such as identifyingcolor, for DL/UL MU/trigger-based PPDUs.

In embodiments, a trigger-based UL PPDU may be signaled using L-SIGlength mod-2. With this arrangement, the direction of an MU PPDU may beexplicitly signaled by a DL/UL flag in the HE-SIG-A field in Table 2.For an SU format PPDU without range extension, the format bit may beremoved and may be used for other purposes.

Although features and elements are described above in particularcombinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with theother features and elements. In addition, the methods described hereinmay be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmwareincorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computeror processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronicsignals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) andcomputer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storagemedia include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), arandom access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductormemory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removabledisks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks,and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association withsoftware may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for usein a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

What is claimed is:
 1. A station (STA) comprising: a transceiver; and aprocessor, wherein the transceiver and the processor are configured todetect a trigger frame for bandwidth reporting from an access point(AP), wherein the transceiver and the processor are further configuredto transmit a bandwidth report in response to the trigger frame, whereinthe bandwidth report indicates whether particular 20 MHz sub-channels ofa wider channel supported by the AP are available at the STA, andwherein the transceiver and the processor are further configured todetect data in a resource unit (RU) of a downlink (DL) MU physical layer(PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) on one of the 20 MHz sub-channels,wherein the one of the 20 MHz sub-channels is based on the transmittedbandwidth report.
 2. The STA of claim 1, wherein the trigger frameincludes a common information field, and the common information fieldincludes a trigger type subfield that indicates that the trigger is forbandwidth reporting.
 3. The STA of claim 1, wherein the trigger frame isa trigger for an uplink (UL) multi-user (MU) physical layer protocoldata unit (PPDU).
 4. The STA of claim 3, wherein the trigger frameincludes a plurality of user information fields, each of the userinformation fields including an association identifier (AID) sub-fieldthat includes an AID of an individual STA addressed by the trigger frameand a resource unit (RU) allocation for the STA identified by the AIDsub-field to send the bandwidth report in the UL MU PPDU.
 5. The STA ofclaim 4, wherein the transceiver and the processor are furtherconfigured to transmit the bandwidth report in response to the triggerframe based on the trigger frame including a user information fieldincluding the AID of the STA.
 6. The STA of claim 4, wherein the triggerframe further comprises an assignment of sub-channels and spatialstreams for each STA identified by an AID in the trigger frame.
 7. Amethod, implemented in a station (STA), the method comprising: detectinga trigger frame for bandwidth reporting from an access point (AP);transmitting a bandwidth report in response to the trigger frame,wherein the bandwidth report indicates whether particular 20 MHzsub-channels of a wider channel supported by the AP are available at theSTA; and detecting data in a resource unit (RU) of a downlink (DL) MUphysical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) on one of the 20 MHzsub-channels, wherein the one of the 20 MHz sub-channels is based on thetransmitted bandwidth report.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein thetrigger frame includes a common information field, and the commoninformation field includes a trigger type subfield that indicates thatthe trigger is for bandwidth reporting.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein the trigger frame includes a common information field, and thecommon information field includes a trigger type subfield that indicatesthat the trigger is for bandwidth reporting.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the trigger frame includes a plurality of user informationfields, each of the user information fields including an associationidentifier (AID) sub-field that includes an AID of an individual STAaddressed by the trigger frame and a resource unit (RU) allocation forthe STA identified by the AID sub-field to send the bandwidth report inthe UL MU PPDU.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the transmitting thebandwidth report further comprises transmitting the bandwidth report inresponse to the trigger frame based on the trigger frame including auser information field including the AID of the STA.
 12. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the trigger frame further comprises an assignment ofsub-channels and spatial streams for each STA identified by an AID inthe trigger frame.
 13. An access point (AP) comprising: a transceiver;and a processor, wherein the transceiver and the processor areconfigured to transmit a trigger frame for bandwidth reporting, whereinthe transceiver and the processor are further configured to receive atleast one bandwidth report in response to the trigger frame, wherein thebandwidth report indicates whether particular 20 MHz sub-channels of awider channel supported by the AP are available at one or more STAs, andwherein the transceiver and the processor are further configured totransmit data in a resource unit (RU) of a downlink (DL) MU physicallayer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) on one or more of the 20 MHzsub-channels, wherein the one or more of the 20 MHz sub-channels isbased on the received at least one bandwidth report.
 14. The AP of claim13, wherein the trigger frame includes a common information field, andthe common information field includes a trigger type subfield thatindicates that the trigger is for bandwidth reporting.
 15. The AP ofclaim 13, wherein the trigger frame is a trigger for an uplink (UL)multi-user (MU) physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU).
 16. The AP ofclaim 15, wherein the trigger frame includes a plurality of userinformation fields, each of the user information fields including anassociation identifier (AID) sub-field that includes an AID of anindividual STA addressed by the trigger frame and a resource unit (RU)allocation for the STA identified by the AID sub-field to send thebandwidth report in the UL MU PPDU.
 17. The AP of claim 16, wherein thetransceiver and the processor are further configured to receive a UL MUPPDU including a plurality of bandwidth reports from a plurality ofSTAs, each of the STAs being triggered based on the trigger frameincluding a plurality of user information fields, each including the AIDof one of the plurality of STAs.
 18. The AP of claim 16, wherein each ofthe received bandwidth reports are received in the UL MU PPDU in RUsallocated for each of the plurality of STAs in the trigger frame. 19.The AP of claim 16, wherein the trigger frame further comprises anassignment of sub-channels and spatial streams for each STA identifiedby an AID in the trigger frame.